Doug and Telisha Williams at Emerson House April 14

Charlotte’s Web is proud to host Doug and Telisha Williams in a show that truly captures the tenor of these tough economic times. They’ll perform at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 14, at Emerson House, 420 N. Main St.

These two come from Martinsville, Va., where boarded-up factories show how fast the world can change.

“Seems like everybody we know is living what you read about in the papers,” says Doug. “The unemployment is 20.2 percent, and we’re all feeling a little desperate and pushed against the wall. This record couldn’t help but echo what we’re seeing and hearing.”

From the region of the Blue Ridge Mountains comes their new record, Ghost of the Knoxville Girl. Like the best singer-songwriters, this duo gives a voice to the struggles of everyday people, as well as ghosts of the past.

Like the ghost in the title track, the characters in the collection of songs are resilient spirits who face their troubles straight on, never looking away. Telisha’s voice rises from way down deep and delivers the honest truth with a frank clearness that never wavers and emotion that is genuine. Having written and played together since their teen-age years, Doug’s guitar and harmonies follow suit, giving soul to heart.

It’s been more than three years, hundreds of shows, and thousands of miles since Doug and Telisha released their last record, Rope Around My Heart. Since then, they’ve traveled from Florida to Oregon and Michigan to Texas, played with some of their most beloved heroes — Lucinda Williams, Darrell Scott, Charlie Louvin and Joe Ely — and they’ve been on stage at Anderson Fair, The Birchmere, The Carolina Theater, Godfrey Daniels, Madison Square Park and Floydfest.

Wherever Doug and Telisha go, they always make quick friends with their audiences, pulling them right into their lives. But no matter how far they roam, they always find their way back home — a place that holds tight to the intricacies and contradictions of life in the South today. A place where old-time religion, superstition, rundown bars, gravel parking lots and boarded-up factories tell stories that wind up being songs.